I guess the quickest way to describe this game is as a 'SMASH-EM-UP' Arcade Racing game. This appraisal will make perfect sense to all of you who have played either Destruction Derby 1 or 2, but for those who haven't, I will do my best to explain.

Essentially Destruction Derby Raw is a racing game where contact between cars is encouraged(by the crossover design of tracks) and rewarded(by judges who add points to your race score as you collide with opponents).

On some tracks you will get a higher score by concentrating your efforts on finishing first in the race, others lend themselves nicely to racking up lots of collision points and there are those where you will be just trying to survive until the end of the event.

One of the great aspects to all three Destruction Derby games is that you don't need to have any gaming ability to be able to enjoy it. Control of the cars is so straightforward that, within minutes, hand-brake turns and crunching high speed impacts will seem second nature. But don't let this simplicity fool you, progression to any of the more challenging tracks will require mastery of the ability to destroy others without sustaining damage.
As a great DD Sage once said "Its not the winning that counts - it's the taking apart !".

Oh yes, this ain't no picnic my friends. You can expect every other car on the track to be gunning for you too and some of these guys have long memories. So don't be too surprised if car number 10 takes a dislike to you for a couple of races, after being rear-ended and flipped through 180 degrees..!

Graphically DD Raw is a bit of a step backwards when compared to the previous game. I guess we should have expected some changes (as it's a completely different company that coded this version), but we hoped that the days of polygon seaming and slowdown were long gone.

To be fair, the game is pushing the PlayStations capability to the max, with each car able to distort and break apart panel by panel (eventually bellowing with dark smoke before expiring). Sparks fly, tires smoke realistically and there's usually far too much action on-screen for many of the glitches to be noticed.

The sound effects will have you wincing time and time again as metal meets metal. Just be sure to keep the volume on your TV down, or risk your neighbor's calling the cops - fearful that world war 3 just broke out.

Features:

· The developers have tried to give the game 'WWF' feel by allowing multi-hit combo's, each of which has a dramatic name like 'The Bone Cruncher' or 'Jaw Breaker'.

· Smash for Cash Mode: Win races and use prize money to upgrade to better, faster cars in order to win the more advanced races.

· Wreckin' Racing Mode: Pile up the points by smashing into other vehicles. Finish the race in a high enough position to earn extra points. If you do not finish the race, then you will not be awarded any points

· Team Assault Mode: There are two vehicles per team and your partner is a CPU-controlled armor-plated truck: Prevent the other CPU cars from attacking your team-mate, while simultaneously trying to slow down your opponent's truck. Gain extra points by helping your partner to retain a high race position.

· Classic Mode: Forget Racing. Last one to the Breaker's Yard wins!

· Skyscraper Mode: The objective here, as well as picking up points in the usual way, is to shunt your opponents off the roof of a towering skyscraper.

Tom R
"Well I loved the previous two Destruction Derby titles and gladly the 3rd time is a charm as well.

What we basically have here is DD with gobs of options and games thrown in. The graphics haven't really improved from DD2, nor has the sound but good god man, there are like 6 different types of games you can choose from here.

The "normal" DD races where you run through a circuit and smash the crap out of all the other cars over 31 tracks are nice, but the real fun rests with some of the new games like Skyscraper and Da Bomb. In Skyscraper you are employing your destructive talents from on top of high-rise buildings. It plays out like "King of the Hill".push everyone off the buildings! Da Bomb had me laughing my ass off. In this game cars drive around with sticks of dynamite over their roofs (you can select up to 3 sticks per race). The object is to either avoid hitting the cars with the dynamite (touching a car transfers the stick to you), or frantically trying transfer the dynamite from your car to someone else left on the course. If the timer runs out with the stick on your car, you explode.plain and simple.

This is truly a fine addition to the Destruction Derby stable and one that I can whole-heartily recommend to fans of the series and to driving nuts like myself.
"

Graphics 16/20Playability 44/50

Sound 8/10Lastability 16/20

84%

Summary (European Version)

Steve
"What we have here is a great game that will give you hours of brain-free pleasure that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.

The new developers have done a fine job in updating the game, offering so many cars and tracks that those who owned and loved the other two games would consider this to be an essential purchase.

But for all of you who are new to the world of Destruction Derby, I would have to say that you would be better off saving some money and picking up one of the older games at a fraction of the cost.
"